Generating component pages to render in a configuration page in a graphical user interface to configure a computing resource

ABSTRACT

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for generating component pages to render in a configuration page in a graphical user interface (GUI) to configure a computing resource. A plurality of component pages are generated to render in the configuration page. Each component page includes user configuration setting controls to enable the user to set configuration parameters for component resources to configure the computer resource. The configuration page is generated to: render a main panel in the GUI program; render graphical component page selection controls in the GUI program associated with the component pages; receive user selection of a selected one of the graphical component page selection controls associated with one of the component pages; and render the component page associated with the selected graphical component page selection control.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a computer program product, system, andmethod for generating component pages to render in a configuration pagein a graphical user interface to configure a computing resource.

2. Description of the Related Art

There are two types of configuration programs to guide a user through achain of configuration settings to configure a computing resource,dialogs and guided actions, such as a configuration wizard. The dialogtechnique operates by providing dialog pages, where each page isrelevant to one step of the chain of configuration settings and isautonomous in that one page is not dependent on the other. The user mustsucceed in the configuration in one dialog page, and only whenconfigurations in one page successfully complete will the dialog open adifferent dialog and continue to the next dialog page and configurationoperations. However, with the dialog technique, if one dialog page isblocked due to a dependency of a setting entered through an earlierdialog page, the user may need to close the dialog, open another, andthen fix the problem by going back to the previous dialog page in whichthe conflicting setting was introduce. With the dialog pages, the useris not aware of where in the dialog pages the problem occurred to allowthe user to proceed to the correct dialog page to enter the correctsetting.

The other type of configuration technique involves guided action, alsoreferred to as a wizard, to guide the user through a set of actionswhere at the end all the actions are committed if there are nodependency conflicts in entered settings. The issue with the guidedaction technique is that the guided action program does not provide theuser with sufficient information to know all dependencies andprerequisites while performing the configuration in a particular paneland before proceeding to the next panel. Thus, the error may not beintroduced until after several panels into the wizard, which makes itdifficult for the user to determine the cause of the error in order totake actions to fix the problem.

There is a need in the art for improved techniques for providing a userinterface to configure a computational resource.

SUMMARY

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method forgenerating component pages to render in a configuration page in agraphical user interface (GUI) to configure a computing resource. Aplurality of component pages are generated to render in theconfiguration page. Each component page includes user configurationsetting controls to enable the user to set configuration parameters forcomponent resources to configure the computer resource. Theconfiguration page is generated to: render a main panel in the GUIprogram; render graphical component page selection controls in the GUIprogram associated with the component pages; receive user selection of aselected one of the graphical component page selection controlsassociated with one of the component pages; and render the componentpage associated with the selected graphical component page selectioncontrol.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a computing environment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of component page information.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a component resource setting forcomponent resources to be configured in a configuration page.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of dependency information fordetermining dependency conflicts of entered configuration settingvalues.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate examples of configuration pages rendered in aconfiguration graphical user interface (GUI) panels to enter values forconfiguration parameters displayed in the configuration pages renderedin the configuration GUI.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of operations to generate aconfiguration page to configure a computing resource.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of operations to process user entry ofa value for a configuration parameter in the configuration page renderedin the configuration GUI.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment of operations to process user selectionto apply saved values for configuration parameters.

FIG. 10 illustrates a computing environment in which the components ofFIG. 1 may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Described embodiments provide techniques for configuring parameters fora computing resource to be configured by providing configuration pagesto a user through a configuration GUI that enables the user to gobackwards and forwards in the configuration pages of configurationparameters to enter values at any point in the chain of configurationsettings. Described embodiments generate pages having graphicalcomponent page selection controls for each configuration page ofconfiguration parameters to allow the user to select any configurationpage having configuration parameters to configure. Further describedembodiments provide information on dependency conflicts in a manner toallow the user to go to the configuration pages having the configurationparameters that conflict so the user may readily correct any conflictingentered values for configuration resources.

Described embodiments generate configuration pages that allow the userto process a chain of ordered pages of configuration parameters in apredefined order, but then if there is a dependency problem noted or achange needs to be made out of order in the configuration pages, theuser may use the component page selection controls rendered in the GUIto readily proceed to any other page of configuration parameters toadjust settings. Further, in described embodiments information isprovided on dependency problems in the configuration pages having theconfiguration parameters producing the conflict. This allows the user toreadily navigate to the different configuration pages with theconfiguration parameters producing the conflicts so the user may correctthe conflicting parameter values to avoid the conflict.

Further, the graphical component page selection controls provideinformation on a number of unapplied configuration parameters in thepages to allow the user to access those configuration pages havingparameters that need to be configured, all the while receivinginformation on any dependency conflicts that arise as a result of newentered values for configuration parameters.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a computing environment including aconfiguration server 100 having a processor 102 and a main memory 104including a resource configuration program 106 for generatingconfiguration pages 108 comprising component pages 110 of user interfacecontrols to render in a configuration graphical user interface (GUI) 112running in client systems 114 and the server 100 to configure aconnected computing resource 116 connected. The configuration pages 108each include component pages 110 having user interface controls toconfigure the connected computing resource 116 over a network 118. Theconfiguration program 106 may also generate configuration pages 108 toconfigure computing resources 116 in and directly connected to theclients 114 and the system 100.

The resource configuration program 106 generates the configuration pages108 from information maintained in a resource configuration object 120including component page information 200 providing information oncomponent pages 110 rendered in the configuration pages 108; aconfiguration page template 122 providing a layout of how the componentpages 110 are presented in the configuration page 108; and dependencyinformation 400 indicating potential conflicts for values entered forconfiguration parameters for component resources which must beconfigured or set to configure the computing resource 116. Theconfiguration server 100 may transmit the configuration pages 108 to theclient systems 114 over the network 114 to render in their configurationGUIs 108 to allow computing resources 116 to be configured fromdifferent clients 114 and the server 100.

To render the configuration user interface in the configuration GUI 112,the resource configuration program 106 may generate configuration pages108 having user interface controls and content loaded into theconfiguration GUI 112. The configuration pages 108 and their componentpages 110 may be encoded using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML),Extended Markup Language (XML) and additional software frameworks,browser extensions, plugins, etc. that render graphics and other userinterface components, such as ActiveX®, Adobe Flash®, JavaFX®, Java®Applets, JavaScript®, etc. (In many countries, ActiveX is a registeredtrademark of Microsoft Corporation; Adobe Flash is a registeredtrademark of Adobe Systems Inc.; and Java, JavaScript, and JavaFX areregistered trademarks of Oracle America, Inc.) The configuration GUI 112may comprise a program suitable for rendering configuration pages 108,110 of user interface controls, such as a web browser or desktopapplication program. The configuration GUI 112 and the generatedconfiguration pages 108 may be rendered on a display screen at thesystem 100 and clients 114, and input received through a user inputdevice, such as a mouse, keyboard, voice activation, touch sensitivescreen, etc.

When generating the user interface controls in the configuration page108 and component pages 110, a new page may be generated or graphicchanges may be rendered through a plugin, browser extension or othergraphics delivery mechanisms generated within the current page 114loaded in the configuration GUI 112.

The memory device 104 may comprise suitable devices known in the art forfunctioning as a main memory of a computer system, such as a RandomAccess Memory (RAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Static DRAM (SDRAM),storage-class memory (SCM), Phase Change Memory (PCM), resistive randomaccess memory (RRAM), spin transfer torque memory (STM-RAM), conductivebridging RAM (CBRAM), etc.

The computing resource 116 to configure may be comprised of componentresources for which configuration parameter values need to be providedin order to configure the computing resource 116. In one embodiment, theserver 100 and clients 114 connect to the computing resource 116 overthe network 118. Alternatively, the server 100 and clients 114 may beconnected to the computing resource 116 over direct connections, such asa serial cable, Universal Serial Bus (USB) or other type of directconnections.

In one embodiment, the computing resource 116 may comprise a storageresource such as a storage volume, and the component resources maycomprise resources to configure in order to configure the storagevolume, such as storage pools, a system for the volume, a domain for thevolume, and resources used to manage the data being stored, such ascompression, encryption, replication, etc. The component resources toconfigure may be organized in the component pages 110 according to apreferred ordering selected by the developer of the resourceconfiguration object 120. The computing resource 116 may comprise othertypes of hardware devices and programs, such as backup programs,database programs, workflow programs, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates an instance of component page information 200 _(i) inthe resource configuration object 120 used to generate the componentpages 110 in the configuration page 108, including a page identifier(ID) 302 identifying the component page 110 _(i); an order number 204indicating an order of the component page 202 in a component pageordering of all the pages 110; component resource settings 300 providingthe configuration parameters for the component resources configured inthe component page 202; and a component page layout template 206 thatprovides a layout of configuration setting controls the user maymanipulate to set values for configuration parameters for componentresources configured in the component page 202.

A developer determines the preferred ordering 204 of the component pages108 in which the user enters values for component resources to providean organized flow in which the user enters settings taking into accountdependencies and a preferred ordering for the user to enter settings toavoid dependency conflicts and optimize the settings. The user may alsoselect the configuration setting controls for different configurationparameters for component resources to include in the component pages 110and organize the presentation of the configuration parameters in thepages 110, which themselves are organized in the configuration page 108.

FIG. 3 illustrates an instance of a component resource setting 300 _(j)of the component resource settings 300 in the component page information200 _(i) to configure a particular component resource that needs to beconfigured in order to configure the ultimate computing resource 116. Acomponent resource setting 300 _(j) includes a component resource 302which is being configured in the particular component page 110 _(i)defined through component page information 200 _(i), e.g., storagepools, storage allocated, storage settings, etc; a configurationparameter 304 being configured, such as a setting for the componentresource; a range of possible values 306 for the configuration resourcewhich may be rendered in the component page 110 _(i) for the user toview to select an appropriate value in the range; a saved value 308 theuser entered for the configuration parameter 304; an applied flag 310indicating whether the user selected to apply the saved value 308, whichmeans it is indicated as ready to use for the final configuration forthe computing resource 116 when all other component resource settings300 for all the pages 110 are completed; a conflict flag 312 indicatingwhether the saved value 308 has a dependency conflict with any othersaved values for any other component resource settings 300 in any of theother pages 110; and conflict information 314 providing informationdescribing a nature of the dependency conflict.

For instance, if the component resource is a system being used for theconfiguration, the configuration parameter may identify a particularsystem in the network, if the component resource is a storage pool, thenthe configuration parameter for the user to configure may comprise astorage pool, if the configuration parameter is a volume, then theconfiguration parameter may indicate a volume size, whether the volumeis compressed or not, and other configuration settings.

In certain embodiments, the user entered settings, such as the savedvalue 308, applied flag 310, conflict flag 312, and conflict information314 may be maintained locally at the client 114 or server 100 where theconfiguration GUI 112 is rendering the configuration page 108 or may bemaintained at the server 100 and saved for a user account to providepersistent storage of these user entered settings. The server 100 maythen supply the GUI 112 executing the configuration page 108 with thesaved values.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of an instance of dependencyinformation 400 _(i) maintained with the dependency information that hasa dependency identifier 410; component resources 412 that are subject tothe potential dependency conflict; and a dependency rule 414 indicatinga rule for comparing saved values for the configuration parameters ofthe component resource 412 to determine if there is a dependencyconflict, such as if the user selected a storage pool component resourcethat did not have enough storage space for a volume size configurationsetting set by the user, or the storage pool could not support otherrequested features, such as transfer speed, compression, etc.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate examples of how the configuration GUI 112renders the component pages 110 in the configuration page 108 toconfigure a volume computing resource 116. FIG. 500 shows a thirdcomponent page 110 ₃ rendered in a main panel 501 of the configurationpage 108 having configuration setting controls 502 ₁, 502 ₂, 502 ₃, and502 ₄ for component resources such as the volume being locked orunlocked, an unused capacity, volume size, and a compression setting,respectively. The main panel 501 of the configuration page 108 comprisesthe region in which the current component page 110 _(i) and itsconfiguration selection controls, saved values 308, and configurationsettings for component resources are rendered. The configuration page108 renders graphical component page selection controls 500 ₁, 500 ₂,500 ₃, and 500 ₄ that may be selected to cause the rendering of acorresponding component page 110 ₁, 110 ₂, 110 ₃, and 110 ₄ in the mainpanel 501. In FIG. 5, the current selected graphical component pageselection control 500 ₃ renders the third component page 110 ₃ in theordering. Further, each of the component page selection controls 500 ₁,500 ₂, 500 ₃, and 500 ₄ render information indicating a number ofconfiguration parameters 502 ₁, 502 ₂, 502 ₃, and 502 ₄ in thecorresponding component page 110 _(i) that have not been applied in thatpage, which for page 110 ₃ comprises three unapplied configurationparameters. The number of unapplied configuration parameters are shownin the graphical component page selection controls 500 ₁, 500 ₂, 500 ₃,and 500 ₄ for the other of the pages. This visually signals to the userthe component pages that have configuration parameters that need to beconfigured for component resources within a component page 110 _(i).

Further, FIG. 5 shows a conflict message 506 being displayed indicatinga conflict with the selected volume size of 2000 GB, as conflicting withthe free space in the pool setting. If there are no conflicts, then theuser may select the apply graphical control 508 to change the state of asaved value 308 to applied 310. In FIG. 5 the apply graphical control508 is rendered in an unselectable state because the presence of thedependency conflict as displayed 506 prevents a user from selecting theapply graphical control 508 to apply the conflicting value.

FIG. 6 shows another example of the rendering of the configuration page108 in the configuration GUI 112 after all the configuration settings inthe fourth component page 110 ₄ have been applied, as represented bydisplaying a checkmark in the component page selection control 600 ₄ forthe rendered page 110 ₄. Values for configuration settings may beentered in the main panel 601 of the configuration page 108 through theconfiguration setting controls 602 ₁, 602 ₂ . . . 602 ₈ forconfiguration parameters for component resources related to the poolsettings for configuring the storage pool that will be used for thevolume computing resource. The component page 110 ₄ providesconfiguration parameters for component resources such as indication ofwhether the pool is thin or regular, whether a snapshot is used for thestorage pool, the storage space for the pool that is used in volumes,the storage space allocated to volumes, a snapshot size, a physicalspace allocated (hard size), and whether the pool is read only. In thisway the component page 110 ₄ rendered in FIG. 6 allows the user toselect component resources for configuring the pool settings, which isthe fourth ordered page of parameters to configure when configuring avolume

Further, FIG. 6 displays a message 610 for the settings configured inthe selected component page selection control 602 ₄ providinginformation on changes applied for configuration settings entered intocomponent page 110 ₄ rendered in the configuration page 108. FIG. 6 alsoshows the apply graphical control 608 as unselectable because all valuesfor configuration settings have been applied. The user would have toselect the revert graphical control 610 to change any of the appliedvalues.

FIG. 7 illustrates the resource configuration program 106 generating theconfiguration page 108 that when loaded and executed in theconfiguration GUI 12 causes the rendering, receiving of user input, andthe determinations recited in blocks 702 through 720. The configurationpage 108 causes various determinations that drive what is rendered bymaking determinations internally through the configuration GUI 112executing code embedded in the configuration page 108 and/or byinteracting with the resource configuration program 106 that may bemaintained locally in the client 114 or remotely in the server 110. Theresource configuration program 106 may receive input from theconfiguration GUI 112 executing the configuration page 108 and makecertain determinations to control how the configuration page 108 rendersin formation in the GUI 112.

The configuration page 108 renders (at block 702) in a main panel 501,601 of the configuration GUI 112 the selected component page 110 _(i)and graphical component page selection controls, e.g., 500 ₁, 500 ₂, 500₃, 500 ₄, 600 ₁, 600 ₂ . . . 600 ₅, associated with the component pages110, rendered in the order in which the component pages 110 are ordered.A number of configuration parameters in each of the component pages thathas unapplied values 308, as indicated in applied flag 310, or no valueis rendered (at block 706) in the graphical component page selectioncontrol, e.g., 500 ₁, 500 ₂, 500 ₃, 500 ₄, 600 ₁, 600 ₂ . . . 600 ₅.

The configuration page 108 renders (at block 706) in the main panel 501,601 of the configuration page 108 the page layout template 208 for thecomponent page 110 _(i) showing the configuration setting controls e.g.,502 ₁, 502 ₂, 502 ₃, 502 ₄, 602 ₁, 602 ₂ . . . 602 ₈ for configurationparameters displayed in the component page 110 _(i), and any savedvalues 308 for configuration parameters 304.

The configuration page 108 causes a determination (at block 708) ofwhether there are any dependency conflicts with saved values 308 for theconfiguration parameters in any component page 110. A dependencyconflict may be determined if any of the saved values 308 forconfiguration parameters in the component page 110 _(i) conflict withany saved values 308 for configuration parameters in any of the otherpages 110 according to dependency rules 414 in the dependencyinformation 400 _(i) applicable to the saved values in the displayedcomponent page 110 _(i). If (at block 708) there are dependencyconflicts of values 308 in the component page 110 _(i), then informationon the page conflict, e.g., 506, from the conflict information 314, isrendered in the page 110 _(i) for the configuration parameters havingthe conflict. When there is a conflict, the apply graphical control 508,608 is rendered (at block 712) as unselectable.

If (at block 708) there is no dependency conflict for the saved valuesfor the rendered page 110 _(i), the configuration page 108 causes adetermination (block 716) of whether there are also unapplied values308, i.e., having the applied flag 310 indicating unapplied. If thereare unapplied values 308, then the apply graphical control 508, 608would be rendered (at block 716) as selectable to allow the user tochange the status (i.e., applied flag 310) for a saved value 308 toapplied, which means the saved value 308 is ready to apply to thecomponent resource of the computing resource 116. If (at block 714)there are no unapplied values, then the configuration page 108 causes(at block 718) a determination whether all values for all configurationparameters in all the pages are applied. If (at block 718) all savedvalues 308 for all the configuration parameters rendered in all theconfiguration pages 108 are applied, i.e., the applied flag 310 set,then the resource configuration program 106 generates (at block 720) auser selectable control to enable the user to configure the computerresource 130 with all the applied saved values 130 for all theconfiguration parameters set through the pages 110. If (at block 718) apage has no unapplied values but all the values for all theconfiguration parameters in all other pages are not applied, then theresource configuration program 108 renders (at block 712) the applygraphical control 508, 608 in the page having all configurationparameter values applied as unselectable.

The configuration page 108 causes determinations, such as whether thereare dependency conflicts, unapplied values, and whether all values forall configuration parameters are applied by executing code or pluginsembedded in the configuration page 108 or by interacting with a remoteor local application, web server, resource configuration program 108, tomake the determinations based on information stored locally at theclient 114 or at a shared server 100.

The described operations of FIG. 7 generate a configuration page 108 inwhich component page selection controls are rendered as separatecontrols to allow the user to navigate through the different componentpages 110 to render the configuration parameters and user configurationsetting controls for one of multiple pages in any order, and to causedetermination of how to display a apply graphical control asunselectable if there are no more configuration parameters to set forthe rendered page 110 _(i).

FIG. 8 illustrates the resource configuration program 106 generating theconfiguration page 108 that when loaded and executed in theconfiguration GUI 12 causes the rendering, receiving of user input, andthe determinations recited in blocks 802 through 810. The configurationpage 108 causes various determinations that drive what is rendered bymaking determinations internally using code configured in theconfiguration page 108 and/or by interacting with a resourceconfiguration program 106 that may be maintained locally in the client114 or remotely in the server 110. The configuration page 108 isgenerated to cause (at block 802) the saving of a user selection of aselected value 308 for the configuration parameter as unapplied inresponse to receiving user selection of a value through theconfiguration setting controls e.g., 502 ₁, 502 ₂, 502 ₃, 502 ₄, 602 ₁,602 ₂ . . . 602 ₈ for one of the unapplied configuration parametersrendered in the component page 110 _(i). By saving the value 308 even ifunapplied, the value is saved as the user may navigate to differentconfiguration pages 108. Thus, any entered value is saved to providepersistency of saved values. The saved values may be stored locallywhere the configuration GUI 112 is executing or at a remote sitemaintaining user entries for configuration pages 108.

After saving the unapplied value 308, if (at block 804) theconfiguration page 108 causes a determination that there is a dependencyrelationship, i.e., dependency information instance 400 _(i) for thecomponent resource for which the value was entered and another componentin any of the pages 110, then the configuration page 108 causes adetermination to be made (at block 808) as to whether the saved value308 just entered conflicts with the value saved for the other componentresource 412 in the dependency relationship according to a dependencyrule 414.

If (at block 804) the configuration page causes a determination thatthere is no dependency relationship 400 _(i) for the component resourcefor which the value was provided or if (at block 808) there is nodependency conflict according to the dependency rule 414, then theconfiguration program 108 renders (at block 806) the apply graphicalcontrol 508, 608 for the rendered component page 110 _(i) in the mainpanel of the configuration GUI 112 as selectable. If (at block 807) thesaved value 308 does conflict with another saved value for anotherconfiguration parameter in any of the pages 110, then the configurationpage 108 renders (at block 808) information 506 (FIG. 5) in the mainpanel of the GUI 112 providing details on the specific dependencyconflict, such as maintained in the conflict information 314 for thecomponent resource setting 300 _(i) for which the value 308 is provided.When there is a conflict, the apply graphical control 508, 608 isrendered (at block 810) as unselectable.

FIG. 9 illustrates the resource configuration program 106 generating theconfiguration page 108 that when loaded and executed in theconfiguration GUI 112 processes user selection of the apply graphicalcontrol 508, 608 to apply any saved values 308. Upon receiving (at block900) user selection of a selectable apply graphical control 508, 608,the configuration page 108 causes (at block 902) saved values 308 forthe configuration parameters rendered and selectable for the renderedpage 110 i in the GUI 112 to be indicated (at block 902) as applied,such as by setting the applied flag 310 to indicate applied. The numberof unapplied values rendered in the graphical component page selectioncontrols graphical component page selection control, e.g., 500 ₁, 500 ₂,500 ₃, 500 ₄, 600 ₁, 600 ₂ . . . 600 ₅ is rendered (at block 904). Therendering at block 904 may update the number of unapplied valueinformation to reflect a new number of fewer unapplied values, which wasjust reduced by the applying operation at block 900.

If (at block 906) all saved values 308 for all the configurationparameters rendered in all the configuration pages 108 are applied,i.e., the applied flag 310 set, then the resource configuration program106 generates (at block 908) a user selectable control to enable theuser to configure the computer resource 130 with all the applied savedvalues 130 for all the configuration parameters that may be set throughthe pages 110. If (at block 906) the rendered page 110 _(i) has nounapplied values but all the values for all the configuration parametersin all other pages are not applied, then the resource configurationprogram 108 renders (at block 1010) the apply graphical control 508, 608in the page having all configuration parameter setting values applied asunselectable.

Described embodiments provide techniques to present an ordered chain ofconfiguration pages in which the user may enter values for configurationparameters to configure a computing resource. Further provided aregraphical component page selection controls to allow the user tonavigate to different pages of configuration parameters to enter valuesfor configuration settings out of order and to address any noteddependency conflicts that arise through the settings.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like,and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The letter designators, such as i and n, used to designate a number ofinstances of an element may indicate a variable number of instances ofthat element when used with the same or different elements.

The computer system 100 and computational components of FIG. 1 may beimplemented in one or more computer systems, such as the computer system1002 shown in FIG. 10. Computer system/server 1002 may be described inthe general context of computer system executable instructions, such asprogram modules, being executed by a computer system. Generally, programmodules may include routines, programs, objects, components, logic, datastructures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implementparticular abstract data types. Computer system/server 1002 may bepracticed in distributed cloud computing environments where tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed cloud computing environment,program modules may be located in both local and remote computer systemstorage media including memory storage devices.

As shown in FIG. 10, the computer system/server 1002 is shown in theform of a general-purpose computing device. The components of computersystem/server 1002 may include, but are not limited to, one or moreprocessors or processing units 1004, a system memory 1006, and a bus1008 that couples various system components including system memory 1006to processor 1004. Bus 1008 represents one or more of any of severaltypes of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, aperipheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or localbus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, andnot limitation, such architectures include Industry StandardArchitecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, EnhancedISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) localbus, and Peripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 1002 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 1002, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 1006 can include computer system readable media in theform of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 1010 and/orcache memory 1012. Computer system/server 1002 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 1013 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 1008 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 1006 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 1014, having a set (at least one) of program modules1016, may be stored in memory 1006 by way of example, and notlimitation, as well as an operating system, one or more applicationprograms, other program modules, and program data. Each of the operatingsystem, one or more application programs, other program modules, andprogram data or some combination thereof, may include an implementationof a networking environment. The components of the computer 1002 may beimplemented as program modules 1016 which generally carry out thefunctions and/or methodologies of embodiments of the invention asdescribed herein. The systems of FIG. 1 may be implemented in one ormore computer systems 1002, where if they are implemented in multiplecomputer systems 1002, then the computer systems may communicate over anetwork.

Computer system/server 1002 may also communicate with one or moreexternal devices 1018 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display1020, etc.; one or more devices that enable a user to interact withcomputer system/server 1002; and/or any devices (e.g., network card,modem, etc.) that enable computer system/server 1002 to communicate withone or more other computing devices. Such communication can occur viaInput/Output (I/O) interfaces 1022. Still yet, computer system/server1002 can communicate with one or more networks such as a local areanetwork (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a publicnetwork (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter 1024. As depicted,network adapter 1024 communicates with the other components of computersystem/server 1002 via bus 1008. It should be understood that althoughnot shown, other hardware and/or software components may be used inconjunction with computer system/server 1002. Examples, include, but arenot limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units,external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archivalstorage systems, etc.

The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “theembodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “someembodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all)embodiments of the present invention(s)” unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereofmean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of theitems are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expresslyspecified otherwise.

Devices that are in communication with each other need not be incontinuous communication with each other, unless expressly specifiedotherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication with eachother may communicate directly or indirectly through one or moreintermediaries.

A description of an embodiment with several components in communicationwith each other does not imply that all such components are required. Onthe contrary a variety of optional components are described toillustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the presentinvention.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readilyapparent that more than one device/article (whether or not theycooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly,where more than one device or article is described herein (whether ornot they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a singledevice/article may be used in place of the more than one device orarticle or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead ofthe shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or thefeatures of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more otherdevices which are not explicitly described as having suchfunctionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the present inventionneed not include the device itself.

The foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention hasbeen presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the preciseform disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in lightof the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention belimited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claimsappended hereto. The above specification, examples and data provide acomplete description of the manufacture and use of the composition ofthe invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, theinvention resides in the claims herein after appended.

1-19. (canceled)
 20. A computer program product for generating aconfiguration page rendered in a graphical user interface (GUI) programto use to configure a computer resource, the computer program productcomprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readableprogram code embodied therein that executes to perform operations, theoperations comprising: generating a plurality of component pages,wherein each component page includes user configuration setting controlsto enable a user to set configuration parameters for a componentresource of a plurality of component resources to configure; saving, foreach component page of a plurality of the component pages, user enteredvalues for configuration parameters to configure the component resourceconfigured through the component page that are indicated as unapplied tothe component resource; rendering a plurality of graphical componentpage selection controls simultaneously in a user interface, wherein eachgraphical component page selection control represents one of thecomponent pages and is used to select and open the represented componentpage; rendering, for each of the simultaneously rendered graphicalcomponent page selection controls representing pages having savedunapplied user entered values for the configuration parameters,indication that the component page represented by the graphicalcomponent page selection control has saved unapplied user entered valuesthat are unapplied; in response to user selection of one of thegraphical component page selection controls for which indication isrendered of saved unapplied user entered values, rendering the componentpage represented by the user selected graphical component page selectioncontrol; and receive user selection in the rendered component page toapply the saved unapplied user entered values for configurationparameters to configure the component resource configured through therendered component page.
 21. The computer program product of claim 20,wherein the rendering the graphical component page selection controlssimultaneously comprises: rendering the graphical component pageselection controls according to a specified ordering indicating apreferred order in which configuration parameters presented in thecomponent pages should be entered to satisfy dependency relationships ofthe configuration parameters.
 22. The computer program product of claim20, wherein the rendering the graphical component page selectioncontrols simultaneously comprises: rendering each of the graphicalcomponent page selection controls with information indicating a numberof configuration parameters not having applied values in the componentpage associated with the graphical component page selection control. 23.The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the operations furthercomprise: receiving through one of the user configuration settingcontrols rendered in a component page user selection of a value for aconfiguration parameter; and rendering conflict information indicating adependency conflict in response to a determination that there is adependency conflict between the user selected value for theconfiguration parameter of the component resource and a value providedfor another component resource having a dependency relationship with thecomponent resource for which the user selected value is provided. 24.The computer program product of claim 23, wherein the dependencyconflict is determined by: accessing dependency information indicating aplurality of dependency relationships between component resourcesconfigured in any of the component pages, wherein each of the dependencyrelationships indicates a dependency rule that determines whether theuser selected values for the component resources in the dependencyrelationship are in conflict; determining whether one of the dependencyrelationships is between the component resource for which the value wasentered and another component resource; and in response to determiningthat there is the dependency relationship, determining according to thedependency rule for the dependency relationship whether the userselected value conflicts with the value provided for another componentresource in the dependency relationship.
 25. The computer programproduct of claim 24, wherein the dependency conflict is determined by atleast one of the GUI program executing code embedded in theconfiguration page and a resource computing program that communicateswith the GUI program executing the configuration page.
 26. The computerprogram product of claim 20, wherein the operations further comprise:rendering an apply graphical control for the saved unapplied userentered values, wherein the receiving user selection for the renderedcomponent page comprises receiving user selection of the apply graphicalcontrol; and causing the saved unapplied user entered values for theconfiguration parameters in a component page to be indicated as appliedin response to receiving user selection of the apply graphical control;and rendering the apply graphical control as unselectable in response todetermining that there is at least one dependency conflict between oneof the saved unapplied user entered values for the component resourceconfigured by rendered component page and an additional saved unapplieduser entered value for another component resource configured throughanother of the component pages.
 27. A system for generating aconfiguration page rendered in a graphical user interface (GUI) programto use to configure a computer resource, comprising: a processor; and acomputer readable storage medium having program code that when executedby the processor performs operations, the operations comprising:generating a plurality of component pages, wherein each component pageincludes user configuration setting controls to enable a user to setconfiguration parameters for a component resource of a plurality ofcomponent resources to configure; saving, for each component page of aplurality of the component pages, user entered values for configurationparameters to configure the component resource configured through thecomponent page that are indicated as unapplied to the componentresource; rendering a plurality of graphical component page selectioncontrols simultaneously in a user interface, wherein each graphicalcomponent page selection control represents one of the component pagesand is used to select and open the represented component page;rendering, for each of the simultaneously rendered graphical componentpage selection controls representing pages having saved unapplied userentered values for the configuration parameters, indication that thecomponent page represented by the graphical component page selectioncontrol has saved unapplied user entered values that are unapplied; inresponse to user selection of one of the graphical component pageselection controls for which indication is rendered of saved unapplieduser entered values, rendering the component page represented by theuser selected graphical component page selection control; and receiveuser selection in the rendered component page to apply the savedunapplied user entered values for configuration parameters to configurethe component resource configured through the rendered component page.28. The system of claim 27, wherein the rendering the graphicalcomponent page selection controls simultaneously comprises: renderingthe graphical component page selection controls according to a specifiedordering indicating a preferred order in which configuration parameterspresented in the component pages should be entered to satisfy dependencyrelationships of the configuration parameters.
 29. The system of claim27, wherein the rendering the graphical component page selectioncontrols simultaneously comprises: rendering each of the graphicalcomponent page selection controls with information indicating a numberof configuration parameters not having applied values in the componentpage associated with the graphical component page selection control. 30.The system of claim 27, wherein the operations further comprise:receiving through one of the user configuration setting controlsrendered in a component page user selection of a value for aconfiguration parameter; and rendering conflict information indicating adependency conflict in response to a determination that there is adependency conflict between the user selected value for theconfiguration parameter of the component resource and a value providedfor another component resource having a dependency relationship with thecomponent resource for which the user selected value is provided. 31.The system of claim 30, wherein the dependency conflict is determinedby: accessing dependency information indicating a plurality ofdependency relationships between component resources configured in anyof the component pages, wherein each of the dependency relationshipsindicates a dependency rule that determines whether the user selectedvalues for the component resources in the dependency relationship are inconflict; determining whether one of the dependency relationships isbetween the component resource for which the value was entered andanother component resource; and in response to determining that there isthe dependency relationship, determining according to the dependencyrule for the dependency relationship whether the user selected valueconflicts with the value provided for another component resource in thedependency relationship.
 32. The system of claim 31, wherein thedependency conflict is determined by at least one of the GUI programexecuting code embedded in the configuration page and a resourcecomputing program that communicates with the GUI program executing theconfiguration page.
 33. The system of claim 27, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: rendering an apply graphical control for the savedunapplied user entered values, wherein the receiving user selection forthe rendered component page comprises receiving user selection of theapply graphical control; and causing the saved unapplied user enteredvalues for the configuration parameters in a component page to beindicated as applied in response to receiving user selection of theapply graphical control; and rendering the apply graphical control asunselectable in response to determining that there is at least onedependency conflict between one of the saved unapplied user enteredvalues for the component resource configured by rendered component pageand an additional saved unapplied user entered value for anothercomponent resource configured through another of the component pages.34. A method for generating a configuration page rendered in a graphicaluser interface (GUI) program to use to configure a computer resource,comprising: generating a plurality of component pages, wherein eachcomponent page includes user configuration setting controls to enable auser to set configuration parameters for a component resource of aplurality of component resources to configure; saving, for eachcomponent page of a plurality of the component pages, user enteredvalues for configuration parameters to configure the component resourceconfigured through the component page that are indicated as unapplied tothe component resource; rendering a plurality of graphical componentpage selection controls simultaneously in a user interface, wherein eachgraphical component page selection control represents one of thecomponent pages and is used to select and open the represented componentpage; rendering, for each of the simultaneously rendered graphicalcomponent page selection controls representing pages having savedunapplied user entered values for the configuration parameters,indication that the component page represented by the graphicalcomponent page selection control has saved unapplied user entered valuesthat are unapplied; in response to user selection of one of thegraphical component page selection controls for which indication isrendered of saved unapplied user entered values, rendering the componentpage represented by the user selected graphical component page selectioncontrol; and receive user selection in the rendered component page toapply the saved unapplied user entered values for configurationparameters to configure the component resource configured through therendered component page.
 35. The method of claim 34, wherein therendering the graphical component page selection controls simultaneouslycomprises: rendering the graphical component page selection controlsaccording to a specified ordering indicating a preferred order in whichconfiguration parameters presented in the component pages should beentered to satisfy dependency relationships of the configurationparameters.
 36. The method of claim 34, wherein the rendering thegraphical component page selection controls simultaneously comprises:rendering each of the graphical component page selection controls withinformation indicating a number of configuration parameters not havingapplied values in the component page associated with the graphicalcomponent page selection control.
 37. The method of claim 34, furthercomprising: receiving through one of the user configuration settingcontrols rendered in a component page user selection of a value for aconfiguration parameter; and rendering conflict information indicating adependency conflict in response to a determination that there is adependency conflict between the user selected value for theconfiguration parameter of the component resource and a value providedfor another component resource having a dependency relationship with thecomponent resource for which the user selected value is provided. 38.The method of claim 34, wherein the dependency conflict is determinedby: accessing dependency information indicating a plurality ofdependency relationships between component resources configured in anyof the component pages, wherein each of the dependency relationshipsindicates a dependency rule that determines whether the user selectedvalues for the component resources in the dependency relationship are inconflict; determining whether one of the dependency relationships isbetween the component resource for which the value was entered andanother component resource; and in response to determining that there isthe dependency relationship, determining according to the dependencyrule for the dependency relationship whether the user selected valueconflicts with the value provided for another component resource in thedependency relationship.
 39. The method of claim 38, wherein thedependency conflict is determined by at least one of the GUI programexecuting code embedded in the configuration page and a resourcecomputing program that communicates with the GUI program executing theconfiguration page.
 40. The method of claim 34, further comprising:rendering an apply graphical control for the saved unapplied userentered values, wherein the receiving user selection for the renderedcomponent page comprises receiving user selection of the apply graphicalcontrol; and causing the saved unapplied user entered values for theconfiguration parameters in a component page to be indicated as appliedin response to receiving user selection of the apply graphical control;and rendering the apply graphical control as unselectable in response todetermining that there is at least one dependency conflict between oneof the saved unapplied user entered values for the component resourceconfigured by rendered component page and an additional saved unapplieduser entered value for another component resource configured throughanother of the component pages.